Aura in the Shell
by Solora Goldsun
Summary: (Vol 3 Ep 9 spoilers) After seeing his daughter torn apart, Doctor Geppetto hurries to the arena to recover the pieces he needs to preserve her soul and memories. Once there, he meets a young girl with a red cloak, who is trying desperately to get Penny's robotic shell to a safe place.


**Sorry I didn't post last week. It was the first week of my last semester at college, and things were a bit hectic. I'll post an extra fic or chapter this week to make up for it.**

 **Well, Rooster Teeth finally did it. They killed my feels. I am an emotionless void from which nothing can escape. My heart is a black hole. Despite this, however, I will continue using my superpower: predicting the best possible outcome of a situation and giving my readers some temporary relief from the pool of sadness they're drowning in.**

 **I honestly don't think that Penny is dead. It's too early in the game. Her character has not been developed enough. Also, why would they show her father if she's going to be gone for good? If she's really something that is meant to save the world, it makes sense that there's some kind of backup for a situation like this. This is meant to take place right after the episode. Enjoy.**

As soon as Geppetto saw the red-cloaked girl trying desperately to drag his daughter's body out of the arena, he knew who she was. The Atlas soldiers who had accompanied him started to raise their guns, but he stopped them with a light wave of the hand. Clutching a metal briefcase in his other hand, he approached the struggling child.

She was sobbing loudly. Her face was red and wet and she was mumbling to herself. "Gotta get you out. Gotta get… Why are you so heavy?" The sheer helplessness and grief in her voice sent a pang through Geppetto's heart.

He knelt on the ground near her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with a startled gasp. He smiled at her. "You must be Ruby."

The child nodded, her lip trembling. "H-How do you-?"

"Penny told me about you," the old scientist cut in. "You were her first friend." When more tears started to stream from Ruby's eyes, he squeezed her shoulder. "There, there. Don't cry just yet. She's not dead."

Ruby blinked, her silver eyes widening. "Wh-What? How?"

"Doctor Polendina, the Grimm!" one of the soldiers urged.

"Yes, yes. I know." Geppetto waved a dismissive hand, not taking his eyes off of Ruby. "Move back and I'll show you." He flipped open a hidden compartment in his watch and pressed a few buttons. With a whooshing noise, Penny's chest opened, revealing her inner workings.

If there had been more time, Geppetto would have looked at the cogs and gears and wires, reminiscing on how much joy he had found when building his little girl. Since there wasn't time, he reached in and grasped at a faintly-glowing sphere that sat in the center of her chest.

Ruby swallowed loudly. "What's that?"

"Her Aura core," Geppetto explained as he withdrew it. He opened the metal briefcase and placed the core in a hole in the padding made specifically for it. He pressed a few more buttons on his watch before closing the case. "That's where her Aura comes from and, theoretically, where her soul is."

"She has a soul!" the child immediately said, her voice becoming defensive.

Geppetto chuckled softly. "Penny didn't exaggerate your kindness, I see." He watched as a compartment on the back of the robot's head opened. He reached in, pulling out two chips. "I have no doubt that she has a soul. But, even science can't fully explain _where_ the soul is. The Aura core is the most likely place for it in Penny's case, however." He stood up and Ruby stood with him.

"What are those?" she asked.

"Her memories," Geppetto replied. "One holds her mental memories, including her friendship with you. The other holds her physical memories, such as what she's learned during the tournament concerning her fighting abilities." He walked back toward the soldiers. The child followed.

"So, she's in the core and the chips? Can you rebuild her, then? She'd still be…her?"

"I created a few shells for her as a precaution. I simply have to insert the core and chips, run a few tests, and then send her back out again. Odds are good that she'll be fighting Grimm alongside you within the day." He patted the briefcase.

"And yes, she will be the same person. This is not the first body that has had to be replaced." He thought of the first few days after her creation, when Ironwood's drills had caused many prototype bodies to be completely destroyed. He frowned a little at the memory.

At that moment, another Nevermore landed on the barrier on top of the arena and started pecking. Ruby tensed, looking from Geppetto's briefcase to the door.

"You're needed elsewhere," he urged. "I will take care of my daughter. You have my word."

Ruby nodded. "Okay." She scuffed a foot as she moved toward the door. "Make sure her new body is a good one, okay? I don't want…I don't want to see that happen again." She looked at the shell that used to be Penny and shuddered before shaking herself and running out the door.

Geppetto smiled to himself. A few weeks ago, when Penny told him that she had revealed her secret to someone, he had been furious. When the child ended up keeping her promise and not telling anyone, he had been surprised. Now, he was grateful beyond belief that Penny had found this Ruby girl. A friend like that would do more for his daughter than he or Ironwood ever could.

"Doctor!"

 _Good lord, they're annoying. It's not like I'm without a weapon._ Geppetto turned and followed the soldiers back to their ship.

Inside was an emergency lab, as well as one of the backup bodies he had brought from Atlas. It looked like the one that had been destroyed, except for the fact that her dress had been replaced with a simple, green jumpsuit and a belt containing medical supplies. He had correctly assumed that a more efficient form would be needed if the first were to be destroyed.

The chest cavity and the back of her head were open, and he quickly placed the Aura core into the slot in her chest. The robot blinked her eyes. The pupils dilated. "Reading Aura core. Processing…" The chest cavity closed. "Aura core accepted."

Geppetto hated how monotonous her voice sounded. It was like this each time he had to upload her to a new body, but there was always a certain fear in the back of his mind. What if, one time, the monotone never left? What if something happened to his lively daughter that would force him to admit that she had never been truly alive?

Pushing the thought from his mind, he inserted the first chip and waited.

"Reading physical memory card. Processing. Initiating test sequence." Penny took a few steps forward, spun once, and then walked back. "Artificial muscles are fully functional."

Technically, this was all Penny needed in order to fight Grimm and complete her objective of saving the world. Ironwood had been against the installation of a memory core and a conscience. Geppetto had insisted, however. He wouldn't put so much power into something that couldn't feel and could only follow orders. Without that last chip, anyone with the right hacking skills could take control of Penny and make her an unquestioning slave to whatever cause they fought for. Her memories and conscience were her primary defense against such scenarios.

Carefully, Geppetto inserted the last chip.

"Reading mental memory card. Processing." Penny's pupils became un-dilated and she blinked a few times. She looked around the ship before turning to her father. A bright smile spread across her face, causing the scientist's shoulders to relax. "Salutations, Father!"

"Hello, sweetheart," he murmured. "You got a bit banged up, didn't you?" His lip trembled a little, but he managed to keep his eyes from leaking any tears.

"Yes, Father." Penny looked down at the ground. "I lost the round. I'm sorry for my failure."

This time, Geppetto had to bite his lip for a moment before responding. "That's okay, sweetie. You did very well. There's something more important we need to focus on now."

Penny looked out the window just as a Nevermore flew by. "Are we fighting Grimm? I'm combat ready!" She started to grin, but the expression was quickly replaced with a concerned frown. "We are still within the kingdom's boundaries. Has there been another breach?"

"Yes, sweetie." Forcing himself to focus on the matter at hand, Geppetto stood up straight and nodded toward the soldiers. "You'll be briefed on the situation. Prepare yourself. Your spare weapons are already installed."

Penny glanced over her shoulder, opening and closing the compartment on her back experimentally before starting to follow the soldiers. She paused, turning to look at her father once again. "Father, do you know if Ruby is okay? She was probably distressed by what happened to me. Pyrrha Nikos, too."

"I don't know about Miss Nikos, but I met Ruby," Geppetto replied. "I told her that you'd be okay. She is likely on the battlefield now."

"Oh! She'll need my help." Penny pushed past the soldiers. "Let's complete my briefing quickly. I need to fight!"

The doors closed and Geppetto sat down, breathing a heavy sigh. He looked outside, brushing his hand against the holstered Dust blaster at his side. Part of him wanted to go with Penny, to make sure she'd be safe. He knew, however, that he needed to keep out of the line of fire. Otherwise, there would be no one to care for his little girl if she was hurt again.

He thought of that moment when he had seen her ripped to pieces on live television, and his vision finally blurred with tears. He thought of his sweet, naïve daughter, who was little more than a killing machine in the eyes of their superiors. He thought of that poor Beacon girl, who was so terrified of seeing her friend torn apart a second time, who had tried dragging a robot shell to safety as the kingdom's alarms blared overhead. He started to cry quietly.

"Oh, Dust," he whispered, not for the first or last time. "What have I done?"

 **Yeah, I'm calling Penny's father Geppetto until we hear his real name. I know that, if something like this happens, it probably won't for a few episodes. We might not see Penny again until Volume 4. But, I wanted to give Ruby some relief. Crying Ruby is NOT okay.**

 **As for everything else, Pyrrha has basically been emotionally destroyed. She'll probably agree to the Aura transfer with Amber at this point. Let's hope that my Yu-Gi-Oh theory or something similar ends up happening. I'm glad that Neo and Roman are back, of course, and am very excited to see Adam. The reunion between him and Blake will be interesting, to say the least. Did you see Blake at the end of this episode, though? She looked ready to kill someone. Of course, next week will probably be World of Remnant, because Rooster Teeth wants us to suffer.**

 **Ah well. Peace out.**


End file.
